Brex Propels B2B FinTech Into Investors’ Spotlights

Commercial card startup Brex captured headlines this week when it confirmed a significant funding round that propelled the two-year-old startup’s valuation to $2.6 billion. The investment is a massive show of support for the digitization of corporate payments. Other rounds this week showed investors’ appetites for alternative funding solutions, global payroll, strategic procurement, enterprise digitization and cybersecurity. A rundown of more than $274 million in new funding for B2B tech startups is below.

Funderbeam

Former Nasdaq Tallinn CEO Kaidi Ruusalepp announced $4.5 million in Series A funding for Funderbeam, led by U.K.-based Accelerated Digital Ventures, it was reported this week. Funderbeam operates a blockchain-powered funding and trading platform for the private sector in an effort to address the small business venture and capital gap. GK Plug and Play Indonesia, Pandan Ventures and existing backers Draper Associates, Draper Venture Partners, IQ Capital and Mistletoe all participated in the Series A funding, which will be used to strengthen its secondary market offering and expand its presence throughout Asia and, later, Europe.

Edgewise

Cybersecurity remains a hot focus for investors, with Edgewise landing $11 million in Series A funding this week, AmericanInno reports said. Accomplice and .406 Ventures led the round for the company, which provides automated cybersecurity solutions for corporate customers with integrated machine learning. Reports said the firm is currently expanding its team, though exact details on how Edgewise plans to use the capital were not revealed.

Scoutbee

Focused on helping companies more strategically source vendors, Scoutbee announced $12 million in fresh funding led by previous backers Toba Capital, Holtzbrinck Ventures and 42CAP, a press release said this week. The Series A funding will be used to further its market presence in the U.S. and Europe, as well as to further innovate on its artificial intelligence-powered applications, which provide visibility and insight for corporate customers looking to procure goods from B2B vendors.

Immedis

Based in Ireland, Immedis provides payroll and tax services to multinational corporations. Investors at Scottish Equity Partners led a $28.2 million funding round for the company, it announced this week, which will be used to promote international expansion, grow its team by more than 200 and accelerate product research and development. Immedis operates iConnect, a global payroll solution that uses artificial intelligence and robotic process automation to address key points of friction in cross-border employee compensation.

Finexkap

Factoring may have a negative connotation with some companies, but for investors of France’s Finexkap, the opportunities in invoice financing technology show promise. Reports in Crowdfund Insider this week said Finexcap announced $44 million in funding this week led by Chenavari Investment Managers. The company plans to use the investment to focus on further growth of its factoring platform and to expand the financing capabilities of its fund managed by Finexkap Asset Management, reports said.

SignalFx

Corporates migrating their systems to the cloud are often faced with technological challenges, a point of friction that California-based SignalFx aims to address with its technology that enables real-time cloud monitoring and troubleshooting services for enterprise apps using data analytics. The company announced this week $75 million in equity funding led by Tiger Global Management, while existing backers also participated in the Series E round. SignalFx plans to use the funding to accelerate product development and propel global expansion.

Brex

Commercial card startup Brex confirmed what previous reports detailed only weeks ago: The company raised $100 million in venture funding, landing the firm a $2.6 billion valuation only two years after its launch. Just months ago, the company raised $125 million. This time, investors at Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund led the round. All existing backers, including Y Combinator Continuity, Ribbit Capital, DST Global, Greenoaks Capital and IVP also participated. Brex plans to use the funding to expand its feature set in the corporate payments and expense management space, with an eye on stepping into new verticals as well.